Walls and Ceilings - Getting old walls flush with top and bottom plate

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Dan Cotton
12-16-02, 07:00 PM
I am trying to fix two exterior walls on my house that have moved out from the house. They are no longer flush and the top plate sits away from the house. The studs are all attached to both bottom and top plates, but the top plate has leaned away from the house and needs to be pulled in about two inches. Someone help me and tell me how to fix it !

chfite
12-16-02, 07:22 PM
This seems to be a structural problem worthy of a meeting with an engineer.
Dan Cotton
12-16-02, 07:32 PM
It is a old house and has all rough cut 2x4's. I have been told the walls can be pulled in but have heard different ways to do it. They are not long and I am stripping the exterior to all studs in the spring and putting half inch plywood up then vinyl siding it. The studs are two foot on center. I also want to put them on 16 inch centers.

Gary7
12-17-02, 06:19 AM
What does the rest of the house look like above the top plate? Single or two level home? How high is the ceiling in the room(s) which have the problem walls? What does the foundation look like under the walls?
Dan Cotton
12-17-02, 08:42 AM
It is a single level home. the foundation is fine. The ceilings are eight feet high. I just replaced the roof and would have fixed the walls then had I known I had this problem. The walls are the two that run the length of the house. The gable end walls are fine.
chfite
12-17-02, 08:06 PM
Those would be the loadbearing walls.
Gary7
12-18-02, 03:38 AM
Sounds like the builder forgot to nail the rafters and ceiling joists to the wall...(but I can't imagine forgetting to do that). You need to get up in the attic and take a look. If this is the situation, then it's an easy answer. The difficult part will be 1) moving the walls back, 2) Finding the space to swing a hammer.